01/29/2015

Happy Data Privacy Day! What Day?

by ZixCorp

While it may not be the most well-known day of recognition (yet), it is certainly important. In case you missed it, January 28, 2015 was the eighth annual Data Privacy Day (DPD). DPD is an international effort centered on respecting privacy, safeguarding data and enabling trust.

If we’ve learned anything from 2014 and years past, it’s that everyone is at risk of a data breach. Neiman Marcus, Michael’s, Home Depot, Sony and others were all hit hard last year – exposing millions and millions of Social Security numbers, credit and debit card information, email addresses and bank account numbers.

But if that’s not enough to prove data privacy is important, maybe the fact that over 90 percent of data breaches in the first half 2014 were preventable will convince you. DPD is all about encouraging and motivating users to consider the privacy implications of their online actions for themselves and others. There’s no such thing as being too safe with sensitive information.

So what were the experts saying?

As expected, the majority of opinions were about safeguarding yourself, your data and your company.

The National Cyber Security Alliance hosted a Twitter chat focusing on the importance of privacy and online safety. Cybersecurity companies like Kaspersky, Norton and Intel Security chimed in, in addition to individual privacy advocates.

Taking things offline, cities across the country like New York, Atlanta, Austin, San Jose and San Francisco held cybersecurity events, with others expecting to follow suit in the coming months.